Nokiemon

Wish they made a fleece filter for the M271 motor, but we are stuck with just paper for that application here in the US. Ironic, as I too have the "Use only fleece" filter sticker in my engine compartment, but according to the dealer and my own research to find one, they do not exist.
Bummer

LILBENZ230

What's also interesting is that in a conversation I had with a tech-turned-service-advisor at a trustworthy dealership in GA - fleece filters have never been used on the M271 at that dealership. And he also confirmed they do not exist in the USA. He couldn't be sure they ever have. I've sent an oil analysis off to Blackstone labs from my last 13,000 mile interval with a Mann paper filter. I'll be sure to post up the result.

W203E35

After you guys (1.8 Komp guys) said there are no fleece for the 1.8 and only paper I did some research and it seems true. Even at germanfilters.com they do not have the fleece. What's the interval on the m271? on the m272 it's 8.5 with 13k miles. Maybe the interval is less that's why paper will do?

LILBENZ230

No there is no service life difference between the cars, Karo. The M271 is 5.5L of 229.5 oil and the interval is 13,000 on all the cars (at least 2005+ not sure about before).

samaritrey

i know for the 01 cars they start at 10k when reset but seem to jump back up along the way becase my last change went like 15k becase i was an idiot and did not look at it clostly i just trusted the computer wich when i changed still said i had plenty miles to go. in 01 they still had the electronic dip stick and oil quality measuring.

LILBENZ230

My 05 has the electronic dipstick, but I wasn't aware that ANY W203 could actually monitor oil quality. Glyn?

If you're using 229.5 oils and fleece filters, you should change it when the computer recommends. No sense in changing it sooner.

samaritrey

glyn was involved in a talk in another thread about this. his car also does the oil quality it seems early w203 had it but then took it out in the cost cutting measures. as i said i was at 15k or so when i thought when did i do my last oil change and i looked at the bill from the last one and it had the miles and i looked at the car and went wtf. if i remember correctly it said i was good for another 2k or so. i don't really want to run 17k even if it would be fine. i want to keep my car for a very long time so i will do the oil change at the 13k mark even if it says i have more miles to go just to be safe.

acr2001

As far as I know all of the W203s in the US that have the 'electronic dipstick' also measure oil quality. It measures the resistance of the oil to electricity. The resistance changes as the oil becomes more contaminated.

LILBENZ230

The 2005s with the electronic dipsticks measure oil quality? I'll be honest and say I don't know either way.

What I do know is that it seems odd that they don't adjust mileage. Every other car I know of that has oil quality monitoring adjusts the mileage to next service based on it. The BMW does this. The Benz says 13,000 miles when reset and never changes - which tells me it isn't measuring quality.

Nokiemon

Since we can only run paper filters for the M271 Komp motor, I have gotten in the habit of changing oil and filter every 6,500 miles to split the difference of 13k. Might be overkill, but I know from my drag racing days that paper filters are limited in their ability to filter for long durations, and I would rather spend a little extra $ and time for peace of mind.

I believe I read a previous oil thread where Glyn stated that it was better to increase the frequency of oil changes when running paper filters compared to fleece and I have always followed that advice.

LILBENZ230

Maybe I can put some of these oil change fears to rest. I sent a sample of my car's oil off a few days ago to Blackstone labs. The oil was Mobil 1 0W-40 Euro car (229.5) and the filter was Mann paper media. The oil ran in the car from 55,200 miles to 68,100 miles - so very near the entire 13,000 drain. Not a drop was added between changes.

I should have the results by the end of the week. I'm expecting to be told the oil was worn but good through 13,000 miles. Edmunds InsideLine had a 2009 G8 GT in their long term fleet that they went 13,000 miles between changes on a regular old filter (not even cartridge) and Blackstone labs said the oil was okay after that long and recommended 15,000 changes - and the operating conditions were extreme (auto journalists) and the somewhat dusty SoCal area. I expect my Benz to be able to do this. Heck there is a guy on 8thgencivic.com that runs 25,000 miles between changes (he drives a lot for work) on Blackstone's recommendation.

I should say (and bash if you will, it's my car) I don't intend on changing it any more frequently regardless. I love the car and all but I honestly am not going out of my way to change oil more frequently. If my car doesn't make it to 400,000 miles because of this, that's just too bad.

samaritrey

like i said i am pretty sure the monitoring part was taken out or disabled after 01 my. i wonder if it was taken out during the face lift. maybe when they changed over to 13k vs 10k like mine.

LILBENZ230

Yeah, Trey, I don't think the newer ones monitor quality. It's just 13,000 miles or 1 year - whichever comes first. There's no adjustment of mileage like in cars with quality monitoring. The 135i is at 12,800 miles now and its service system says 3400 miles to go before an oil change is needed. It IS monitoring quality - and you're not eligible for service any sooner than the car recommends with BMW free maintenance.

Glyn M Ruck

The FSS was deleted in the US in 2005 & replaced with Assyst set at 13,000 miles. Or at least this is my understanding from their facelift documentation I have.

acr2001

But my 05 documentation says it's still using FSS?
I'd swear that I've seen my 'miles to service' number go up and down a bit on its own.
They made this really confusing.

LILBENZ230

Mine (at reset) shows 13,000 miles and decreases by 100 mile intervals without ever increasing at all. My documentation says stuff about FSS, too, but it isn't using it - its intervals are set firm at 13,000 or 1 year.

My production date is 1.25.2005.

Glyn M Ruck

Extracted from 2005 facelift change documentation for US cars. There was obviously a changeover period hence so called 2004.5 cars. We saw the entire facelift in March 2004 in SA. My car still has the full FSS but with half of the functionality switched off & the service interval fixed at 15,000Km. Somewhat pointless.

Wodeshed

Hey, do you guys have any strong opinions about Mahle-Knecht fleece filters? They're what I've been using, but I'm changing significantly more frequently. Normally I'm doing a Mobil 1 0w-40 and filter change via a full drain at 7 or 8,000 miles. I just didn't trust the long service interval, since I suspected they set it that far out to make the service costs more palatable to customers.

By the way, I'm getting the right Mobil 1 for $26 in 5qt jugs at Walmart!

pcy

AT 7K to 8K mile oil changes any of the fleece filters will be fine. I use Mann filters at around 6 to 7K mile interval oil changes.

Wodeshed

Interesting video from the Mahle guys on YouTube, where they compare a variety of filters:

samaritrey

I always have used Mann Oil filters and air filters just because that is what MB used in my cars. That said my fuel filter is a Mahle and I would use them no problem. Its hard to judge the cartridge style oil filter by just looking at them as all we can see is the filter material but know really knows how good it is.

pcy

Paper media filters tend to degrade and collapse, especially with longer service intervals (like 15K miles oil change interval).

Fleece media filters are specifically designed for longer duration service filters. Since Wodeshed is asking about fleece media filter, I'd say Mann, Mehle, Bosch, or other fleece filter should be fine since he is changing oil at 7 to 8K miles.

samaritrey

I don't believe they make a paper filter for his car so that is not an issue. Sadly for my car and the m271 you can only get the paper ones and they say they can go the full distance (and many do)... But I change mine at around 7-8 because of the timing chain issue I was having.
I was more of speculating that even if we know it is Paper or Fleece who knows how high the quality is of each brands material is just by looking at it (besides obvious spacing and such.) It would be nice to do a side by side comparison with some oil tests to see what differences are found.

Wodeshed

Turns out that the Mahle-Knecht actually has more pleats than the Mann filters, and command a premium price at AutohausAZ.

I realize that the usual point of view here is to use "manufacturer's original", but is it absolutely certain that there is nothing better than what was originally specified?

Also, I have to admit that I kind of expected that "fleece" would have a feel like a NorthFace jacket, but nooooooo.